At Grift & Sift, Chapter 5

 

I’m embarrassed that I go for shiny things, like raccoons do.

Or just showy in general. Like, these shoes—the Jesus kind, like the sandals in the Bible storybook pictures. Though that’s not why I got them. What I loved, besides the straps, was the chunky heels and the zippers. But looking the shoes over, I waffled. I walked out of the store without them. When I went back, though, there they still were, reduced to half price, wanted by not another person in the store. Or else their feet weren’t big enough, which mine weren’t, either. But I was still happy.

There’s something hideous about the shoes—I agree. Maybe their lizard look. But hideousness is fundamental to fashion. Just look around you. What’s ugly and what’s not is in the mind. It’s what drives consumption, fuels the beast.

 


 

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